Eugene, OR – Stetson Lacrosse kicked off their season with a dominant 18-9 victory over Butler on Sunday afternoon. The win marked Head Coach Sue Murphy's first as the Hatters' head coach.

"It was a great team win," said Head Coach, Sue Murphy. "On the defensive end, the unit showed tremendous discipline with repetitive stops. Offensively, having 8 players in the point category alongside having 55% assisted goals is a great season start. Lastly, credit to the draw circle players on making second half adjustments."
 
The teams exchanged goals before Stetson went on a three-goal run with contributions from Miya Scanlan, Anya Lucia Phillips, and Pani. Butler responded with three straight goals of their own, and Stetson held a 6-5 lead at the end of the second quarter.
 
Kathleen Nichols and Kornacki pushed the Hatter lead up to three early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs got one back with five minutes left in the quarter but the Hatters ended the second half with two more goals making it 10-6.

After trading goals early in the third, Phillips and Pani pushed the Stetson lead to six, making it 13-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Hatters opened the fourth quarter with a four-goal run, including back-to-back goals from Charlotte Castiglione. The 4-0 surge gave Stetson a double-digit lead, but Butler managed to cut the margin to eight with just two minutes remaining. Pani sealed the win with her fourth goal of the game in the final 10 seconds, securing an 18-9 victory.

Pani led the team with four goals and two assists on six shots. Scanlan and Nichols each scored three goals, with Scanlan also leading the team with four assists. Four other Hatters added two goals each to round out the scoring. Maddie Eckert made 13 saves on 22 shots in her first career start in goal.

Stetson will look to continue their success from today on Tuesday, February 11 when they face off with Oregon at 2:00pm.